DanceSafe Instructions

The instructions included below are specifically made for DanceSafe branded fentanyl test strips.

When testing your drugs for fentanyl, it is very important to follow the instructions exactly. Use the information below to determine the right dilution for the form of drug you’re testing, and wait a full 3 minutes before assessing the results. While there are only 4 basic steps to this process, correctly diluting your drugs is very important to ensure that your results are accurate.

STEP 1: Determine how much you will be testing

When fentanyl (or a fentanyl analog) is mixed in with cocaine, heroin, or other drugs, it is NEVER mixed evenly. Powder from one side of a baggie (or on the edge of a pressed tablet) may contain no fentanyl at all, yet powder from the other side may contain a fatal dose. This is why it is best to test every bit of the drug you intend to consume!

We’ve also included a backup option below (the “partial test” method) that can be used in case of emergency, or if you lack the resources necessary to conduct a full test.

Open the tab and follow the instructions below for each method.

  • Testing everything requires dissolving your entire dose or batch in water.

    For drugs consumed orally, you can dissolve your dose and drink the water after testing. (The strips do not contaminate the water.)

    Dissolving your dose is a good move if you want to test your drugs right before taking them orally. (Ex. Measuring and testing 120 mg of MDMA before consuming it.)

    For drugs like cocaine or meth that people like to insufflate (snort), you can get the powder back by evaporating the water. (Instructions below.)

    Dissolving your entire batch is useful and efficient because you can test all of your doses at once, but you’ll need to take the time to evaporate the water back out before it’s usable.

  • The best method is to test every bit of the drug you intend to consume, but if you can’t, at least test a good cross section. We recommend a minimum of 50 mg.

    Before doing so, crush any crystals, shards, or rocks into a fine powder.

    Next, mix the powder up as thoroughly as possible by stirring or shaking the baggie.

    This helps distribute any fentanyl that might be clumped up inside, increasing the likelihood that some will be in your sample.

Step 2: Preparing and diluting your drugs

Whether you are testing everything you intend to consume or a smaller portion of your drugs, you need to dilute the powder in the correct amount of water.

Open the tab and follow the instructions below for each type of drug.

  • 1. Crush your drugs into a fine powder.

    2. Place the desired amount of drugs into a small container.

    Reference step 1 when determining the amount of drugs to test. The included micro scoop measures 10mg of finely crushed drugs when the scoop is level (not rounded). If you have a milligram scale, that can be used to get the weight of the crystals or powder you are going to test.

    If you are testing 50 mg or less, you can place the drugs into a standard bottle cap from any 20 oz soda bottle. If you are testing more than 50mg, you will need to use something larger like a a cup or bowl.

    3. Add the right amount of water.

    This step is very important.

    Add 5cc of water (1 tsp) for every 50 mg of powder.

    There is a 5cc (1 tsp) measuring spoon included in our kit. If you don’t have a measuring spoon, a standard plastic bottle cap is a bit larger than a teaspoon.

    4. Stir the mixture until completely dissolved.

    PROCEED TO STEP 2.

  • Counterfeit pharmaceutical tablets containing fentanyl kill thousands of people every year, and they can look exactly like the real ones. There is no way to know whether illicitly-purchased pharmaceuticals contain fentanyl without testing them first.

    1. Crush the entire tablet into a fine powder.

    2. Pour the powder into a small cup.

    3. Add approximately 60cc (4 tablespoons or a 1/4 cup) of water.

    There is a 5cc (1 tsp) measuring spoon included in our kit.

    4. Stir the mixture. Binder may not completely dissolve. That’s ok.

    Only DanceSafe-branded fentanyl test strips work on pressed ecstasy tablets. Other strips give false positives.

    PROCEED TO STEP 2.

  • 1. Cut a small corner off the blotter.

    2. Soak it in a teaspoon of water for 10 minutes.

    PROCEED TO STEP 2.

  • If you inject drugs, you should try to test every time you inject. The easiest method is to test the residue from your spoon or cooker.

    1. After preparing your shot, set the needle aside and wait to inject.

    2. Add about 1cc (1/5th of a teaspoon) of clean water into the spoon or cooker.

    PROCEED TO STEP 2.

STEP 3: Using the strips

After you have diluted your drug using our instructions above, it’s time to use the strips.

1. Hold the yellow end of the test strip and insert the other end into the liquid. Do not insert the strip into the liquid past the dotted section.

2. Allow the liquid to travel up the strip into the test area for a full 15 seconds.

3. Remove the strip and set it down on a flat surface. Wait 3 minutes.

STEP 4: Interpreting the results

One red line on top (closer to the yellow end) after waiting three minutes is a POSITIVE result for the presence of fentanyl. Two red lines is a NEGATIVE result.

  • The lower red line may be significantly lighter than the upper red line. If you can see it at all after waiting three minutes, no matter how faint, it is still a negative result.

  • No red lines (or one red line on the bottom, closer to the dotted end) means the test is invalid. Usually this happens because the liquid did not travel far enough up the test strip.

IMPORTANT! Sometimes a very faint red line will initially appear in the lower area, then quickly fade away. Do NOT confuse this with a negative result. Always wait three minutes before interpreting the results.

DISCLAIMERS:

  1. No fentanyl test strip on the market can detect every fentanyl analog.

  2. At the moment, there are no strips that can detect non-fentanyl synthetic opioids.

Remember, no test is 100% accurate and your drugs may still contain fentanyl or a similar synthetic opioid. For this reason, you should always have naloxone on hand.

Users of fentanyl test strips distributed by the Test Strips Save Lives Foundation accept all responsibility for injury or death that could occur after taking drugs.

Additional Information

  • Fentanyl strip testing does NOT destroy your drugs.

    For drugs consumed orally, you can dissolve your dose and drink the water after testing. (The strips do not contaminate the water.)

    For drugs like cocaine or meth that people like to insufflate (snort), you can get the powder back by evaporating the water. There are many ways to do this, but one of the most popular is pouring the water into a flat-bottomed glass or ceramic dish (like a Pyrex pie dish) and heating it. Other methods involve double boilers, air evaporation (for small quantities), or even blow driers. The most popular method is using an oven.

    Put the pan in the oven on the lowest heat setting, no higher than 225 degrees F.

    Keep the oven door cracked and keep a close eye on the pan. This process can take minutes to hours depending on how much water you’re evaporating.

    When all the water has evaporated, a film/residue will appear on the bottom of the pan. Take the pan out and let it cool.

    This residue usually looks a bit like a thin layer of ice or splotchy crystalline patterns.

    Scrape up the residue using a straight razor or other sharp tool.

    If it’s not fully dry, your powder might be a little tacky or goopy.

    Don’t leave your drugs in the oven for too long after they’re dry. They won’t burn right away, but they will eventually. If your drugs weren’t brown to begin with, a tan or brown tint might mean that you’ve burned them.

  • Except for suicides, overdose deaths are always accidental. The word “overdose” has sometimes carried a moral judgment that the individual was “pushing their limits” in order to get as high as possible, as if it were their own fault.

    This is not true. “Overdose” simply means taking too much of a drug, and it is always accidental. Even daily opioid users who know that fentanyl is in their product have no way of knowing the amount.

    Instead of blaming others, let’s work together to end accidental overdoses.

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